In 2009, Dean Bertolami founded the Dean's Colloquium as
an evening of dinner and discussion dedicated to bringing
together major stakeholders in dental education, organized
dentistry, and the corporate sector, along with selected
NYU officials and external experts in a variety of areas to
address the issue of what the NYU College of Dentistry can
do that we are not already doing to make a meaningful
difference in people's lives, especially people in the
developing world.

In its first year, the colloquium featured remarks by
Dr. John Howe III, president and CEO of Project HOPE, who
spoke about a growing desire among people to volunteer,
which led to a suggestion by Mr. Stanley Bergman, chairman
and CEO of Henry Schein, that NYUCD implement a
collaborative access to care model based on recruiting
volunteer dentists who are members of the New York State
Dental Association to join NYUCD's existing outreach
infrastructure.

The following year, the colloquium featured a report by
Dr. Mark Feldman, executive director of the New York State
Dental Association and former president of the American
Dental Association, on the progress to date of that model.
The program also featured a presentation by Dr. Phil
Borges, an orthodontist by training, who has documented
indigenous and tribal cultures around the world for over 20
years in a series of award-winning exhibits, books, and
multimedia projects, including “Bridges to
Understanding,” an online program that connects youth
worldwide through digital storytelling in order to enhance
cross-cultural understanding and build a sense of global
citizenship in youth.

Building on this distinctive approach of combining an
intellectually inspiring presentation with updates on
pragmatic approaches that NYUCD is taking to expand access
to care, the 2011 colloquium began with recollections from
Michael Dirda, Pulitzer Prize-winning book columnist
for The Washington Post and former writer for The
Washington Post Book World, on his reasons for pursuing a
profession based on his love of reading. Dr. Dirda, who
holds a PhD in comparative literature, was a boyhood friend
of Dean Bertolami's. His discovery of books and his love of
reading, he said, became his passport to the world, a
strategy for transcending his humble origins and becoming
comfortable in the wider world.

Following Dr. Dirda's remarks, Dr. Mark Wolff, professor
and chair of the Department of Cariology and Comprehensive
Care and associate dean for predoctoral clinical education,
presented another kind of strategy for helping people to
navigate the world more successfully. Dr. Wolff reported on
the national oral health model developed by NYUCD for
Grenada with the support of Henry Schein Cares and
Colgate-Palmolive. In words and images, Dr. Wolff showed
how sustainable oral health care could become a passport to
a world of improved health and well-being for underserved
populations around the world.